Fw: The War on the Land and the Work of Repair
Joseph B Juhasz
Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Environmental Design
College of Architecture and Planning
University of Colorado
Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 4:27
To: Joseph B Juhasz <Joseph...@colorado.edu>
Subject: The War on the Land and the Work of Repair
Thanks for supporting Roundtable with your paid subscription! The War on the Land and the Work of RepairIn his keynote talk at the Catholic Worker farm gathering, Dan Guenthner unveils the "low-intensity conflict being waged against nature" — and outlines what the work of repair might look like.
The following text is taken from a talk given by Dan Gunther at the February 2026 Catholic Worker Farm Gathering in Luck, Wisconsin. Dan and his wife, Margaret, have been long-time friends and collaborators with Mike Miles and Barb Kass of Anathoth Community Farm in Luck, Wisconsin. For nearly four decades, the Gunthers have “walked a parallel path” with the Catholic Worker on their own land, bridging the gap between faith-based justice and regenerative agriculture. In his address, Dan reflected on the “war on the land” and the quiet colonization of rural America. He also offered a “roadmap for repair,” calling on us to cultivate communities of hospitality and resistance as the only meaningful response to our current ecological and social crises.
By Dan Guenthner I attended the last time Barb and Mike hosted this event a few years ago. The stories I heard that day from the Valve Turners and others were so inspirational and gave me courage to work harder for peace within my own life and community. I have so much admiration for all of you and for what you are doing. As Catholic Workers, you are immersing yourselves in a life of community, hospitality, and peacemaking. You are helping to create new and lasting alternatives to the dominant culture. Thank you for your example and witness. The timing of this gathering could not have come at a more important moment in our lives and in the civic life of our country. I can’t remember another moment that has been filled with both overwhelming sadness and disbelief, and also a moment that has revealed so many daily acts of mercy, love, and compassion for others. So here we are together, trying to make sense of what to do knowing what we know about our world. So many lines have been blurred and erased, so many preconceived notions of civility and order have been challenged, so many fears and questions have been left unanswered. Yet, amidst all of the cruelty unfolding before our eyes, this moment has also shown that the light will find the cracks. The crisis in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota has clearly demonstrated for me that things that we take for granted can so easily be taken from us, and our only response is to take a stand for what is just and right. The community response to this crisis—through singing resistance, candlelight vigils, marches, and mutual aid to our neighbors—is in many ways creating some much-needed clarity on what we are called to do at this moment. This crisis is teaching us what ultimately matters is how we treat each other and that peacemaking is believing, against all odds, that there is another way. Margaret and I are walking a parallel path with all of you. For the past 37 years, we have dedicated ourselves to many of the same tenets that have guided the Catholic Worker Movement for the past ninety years. Our farm grew out of the Community of St. Martin, a Minneapolis-based Lutheran peace and justice community rooted in simplified living and advocating for nonviolent action. Our farm has been a place for not only growing food for our members, but also for those in our community who do not have access to food grown with care. We have dedicated ourselves to creating a place for experiencing community and beauty. We have tried to nurture a deeper connection to the earth by hosting young interns seeking a life that is more grounded. We have worked hard to create a place that welcomes the stranger. Daily we strive to be more intimately connected to the life forms, both seen and unseen, that make up the ecological web of life around us. I can’t think of a more necessary and worthy calling than to immerse ourselves so deeply in the work of healing the earth. The world is in need of so much healing if we are to counter the constant weight of militarism, consumerism, and the erosion of our democracy, civic institutions, and the fraying social fabric of our country. We don’t have to look far to see the many faces of injustice, discrimination, and neglect around us. Some injustices, however, are not so easy to recognize. The war on the land is an example of a low-intensity conflict being waged against nature and the biological foundations of life on this planet. The war on the land is cloaked in the narrative of “feeding the world.” The war on the land is hidden behind patented life forms, intensive synthetic inputs, and the illusion of abundance. The war on the land is waged through the inhumane treatment of animals. The casualties of this war on the land are often unseen and out of sight. We are experiencing an unprecedented decline in global insect populations due to the indiscriminate use of systemic insecticides, with native pollinators and beneficial insects seen as mere collateral damage. Or undocumented workers who live and work in the shadows with limited rights and few options for living a life of dignity. Or the injustice of an economic system that keeps farmers buried in debt in support of our cheap food policy. The battleground for this war is increasingly being waged in rural communities across this country. As retired agricultural economist John Ikerd writes, “We are the only country on earth that has colonized ourselves.”
This past November, we witnessed this colonization firsthand as we drove to New Mexico to visit Margaret’s longtime friend and college roommate. As we drove through one dying Western Kansas town after another, we began to ask, “Where are the people, the schools, the churches that once made these towns so vibrant and alive?” We saw enormous mounds of corn piled on the ground from yet another bumper crop, yet the farms looked tired and poor and the towns looked neglected and hollowed out, with the capital and wealth that was generated having gone elsewhere. The natural world and the biological systems that support life are beginning to show increasing signs of strain and abuse. The longer we farm, the more it becomes clear that we are not going to bioengineer our way out of our current ecological crisis. Feeding ourselves will require learning that the health and wellbeing of all humanity is directly tied to the health and vitality of the soil. We are being called to create a new way of feeding ourselves and our communities without further diminishing the regenerative capacity of Earth. It is not just the biological systems that are frayed and stretched to their natural limits. Countless stewards of the land who have dedicated their lives to living closer to the ground are also under considerable stress. Where are the Rural Chaplains of America when we need them most? This non-denominational group grew out of the need to address the staggering number of farm foreclosures brought about by the farm crisis of the 1980s. They created rapid-response teams across the Midwest and elsewhere who were available to listen to the stories of those in crisis. In some cases, they were able to offer limited financial assistance. But their mission was to rekindle a sense of hope in the hardworking farm families who fell victim to economic forces beyond their control. The Rural Chaplains of America disbanded more than two decades ago. I think it is time to train a new generation of listeners to address climate anxiety and the fallout from the continued economic collapse of rural communities across this country. So let us roll up our sleeves and set about the work of repair. I believe what many of you are doing through establishing Catholic Worker farms across the Midwest and the country can be a model for healing our planet and our communities. I know that the work is often daunting and challenging. But I see your example as a beacon of light that is reaching others who are looking for a lasting alternative for right livelihood and peaceful resistance. With the historical example of the Catholic Worker Movement as a foundation, together let us put down deeper roots and create new ways of relating to each other and the earth. We have a 90-year roadmap for how to live lives rooted in the Gospel—lives of healing and compassion, lives of action and vision. Here is some of what we know about what healing and repair might look like: Repair is easier within the context of community. Few things are as counter-cultural at this moment than establishing physical communities where we can live, work, and worship together. Working together is our only hope for combatting the forces that daily divide us from each other. Many people are looking for community in the wrong places. I believe that the Catholic Worker model can offer meaningful alternatives for lasting connections rooted in community. Repair and healing have always been rooted in hospitality. Few things break down barriers and contribute to healing more than sharing a meal with someone who shows up unexpectedly at our door. The Gospel message is so clear that our purpose here is to be Christ for each other. Let love and compassion counter the forces at work in our country and world that require proof of citizenship for those seeking relief. Repair will require new expressions of spiritual practice. As mainline church attendance continues to decline, we know that many people are looking for new spiritual practice and expression to make sense of the world around them. Catholic Worker communities are offering a language for how to talk about spiritual needs in new ways. We need new rituals, new songs, and new ways of living sacramental lives in service to others. Repair will require us to continue showing up and shining the light of truth on injustices and economic domination in our communities and around the world. Rural people are beginning to find their voices through “No Kings” rallies and standing with neighbors on sidewalks in small towns to quietly offer an alternative voice to accepting economic injustices and continued colonization of their communities. As Catholic Worker members, you are playing an important role in helping to empower this growing movement of resistance. Few forms of repair are more urgent than finding ways to address climate change in real and meaningful ways. Rejecting consumerism is an important first step to learning how to live within our planet’s biological limits. We can offer an alternative for how to create a more grounded and meaningful life through unburdening ourselves from the unnecessary clutter that distracts us from addressing the planet’s most pressing needs. Repair will require us to decouple militarism from food production. Our food system is in urgent need of repair. We need more gardeners and farmers who are able to offer an example that we can feed ourselves without poisoning our environment. We need to inspire others to seek out alternative food sources and reject the idea that an industrialized food system is the only option. It is easy to be overwhelmed with the weight of the world at this moment. But being here with you, celebrating 90 years of the Catholic Worker Movement, reinforces for me that dedicating ourselves to peacemaking has been, and will continue to be, our only hope. You can learn more about Common Harvest Farm or reach out to Dan at the farm’s website.
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